One of the most populous cities in China, Shenzhen, declared that its residents would receive 20 million digital yuan, worth almost $3 million as a gift. Shenzhen follows Suzhou to trial the real-world usage of China’s CBDC. According to an official announcement, the Shenzhen residents’ registration for reservations and data review will conclude by January 4. The issuance of digital yuan will commence on January 7.
The Shenzhen Government states that it would give away the digital currency in red packets via a lottery. The city intends to grant a total of 100,000 red packets, each worth 200 digital yuan. The entire value of the possible giveaways stands at approximately $3 million. According to the announcement, Lottery-winners will be capable of spending the digital yuan between January 7 and January 17. Moreover, it includes utilizing it amongst 10,000 shops, restaurants, and supermarkets in Shenzhen.
JD.com reports 20,000 Digital Yuan Transactions.
The recent statement came following the country’s digital currency topped 20,000 transactions in December 2020. Suzhou’s Chinese city started the trial earlier this year to test the real-life digital yuan usage and allocated almost 20 million yuan through a local lottery for its residents. In December, the Global Times reported that the execution of nearly 20,000 digital yuan transactions took place on JD.com, as Chinese residents energetically partook in the trial project.
Nevertheless, the latest Shenzhen trial will not enable some of the features utilized in the Suzhou test. It includes the online payment option and the offline touch-to-pay function. According to a report from Beijing Business Today on January 3, the Suzhou test found some technological bugs and loopholes for the offline touch-to-pay function. This was why the new Shenzhen test has not yet embraced the technology.
However, where the central banks worldwide demonstrate an interest in conducting CBDC pilot programs, the Bahamas has established the Sand Dollar. Also, this makes Bahamas the first country to officially issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) beyond the testing phase. Moreover, the digital currency Sand Dollar plans to develop more financial inclusions among multiple Bahamas’ remote islands.
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